In response to MAGA Republicans in Congress supporting Donald Trump’s call to “terminate” the Affordable Care Act, DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika released the following statement: 

“It appears Trump’s MAGA minions in Congress are falling in line behind his unpopular plan to rip away health care from millions of Americans and jack up health care costs on middle class families. The last time Trump tried to repeal Obamacare, he came up just one vote short in Congress, and his MAGA minions would back him in playing politics with people’s essential health care yet again if he takes power. Despite MAGA Republicans’ appalling efforts, President Biden and Democrats will always fight to protect every American’s right to have accessible and affordable health care — those are the stakes of next November’s election.”

Days after Trump doubled down on his call to rip away health care from millions of Americans, his MAGA minions on the Hill are lining up behind his latest salvo against the Affordable Care Act.

Axios: “GOP lawmakers cautiously open to Trump’s ACA repeal push”

“Two top Senate Republicans signaled they could be open to a revived effort.

‘I think Obamacare has been one of the biggest deceptions on the American people,’ said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). ‘I mean just look at your health care premiums.’

[…] 

“Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who’s in line to run the Finance Committee if the GOP retakes the Senate, said he’s open to plans that were similar to the 2017 repeal and replace bills.

[…] 

“Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), an ultraconservative, succinctly replied ‘yes’ on Wednesday when asked if he is still interested in replacing Obamacare.’

“[Rep. Kevin Hern] said of Trump: ‘I’d certainly love to look at his plan.’”

When he was in office, Trump came up just one vote short in Congress from achieving his goal of repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Reuters: “The most previous attempt to repeal Obamacare fell one vote short in July, in a humiliating setback for Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.”

The Hill: “On the campaign trail, Trump has doubled down on his promise to repeal the ACA, a feat he fell one vote short of in 2017.”

Trump: “I will get health care. I’m one vote short of health care. I’ll get health care.”

Trump has revived his yearslong effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, saying MAGA Republicans “should never give up” in their efforts to “terminate” the landmark legislation. 

Daily Beast: “Trump Revives Plan to Dismantle Obamacare if Elected in 2024”

Mediaite: “‘OBAMACARE SUCKS!!!’ Trump Rants About New Plan — Years After He Promised It Was ‘Two Weeks’ Away”

The Messenger: “Former President Donald Trump said he is ‘seriously looking at alternatives’ to Obamacare in a new post on his social media platform Truth Social. He also called it a ‘low point for the Republican Party’ that lawmakers failed to ‘terminate’ the health insurance program established by the Affordable Care Act. According to the latest figures this year, more than 40 million Americans rely on the program for those who can’t afford private plans.”

Trump: “The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, it’s not good Healthcare. I’m seriously looking at alternatives. We had a couple of Republican Senators who campaigned for 6 years against it, and then raised their hands not to terminate it. It was a low point for the Republican Party, but we should never give up!”

If Trump takes power and is successful in repealing the Affordable Care Act, as many as 135 million Americans with preexisting conditions could have their protections ripped away from them.

Center for American Progress: “According to new estimates from the Center for American Progress, 135 million people under age 65, or about half of nonelderly people, have a preexisting condition that an insurer could use to discriminate against them if they ever sought coverage through the individual market in the absence of ACA protections.”

KFF Poll: “Majorities of Democrats [88%], Republicans [62%], and independents [73%] say it is ‘very important’ to continue each of [the Affordable Care Act’s] protections for people with pre-existing conditions.”

Repealing the Affordable Care Act is dangerous, unpopular, and would be devastating for the millions of Americans who depend on it.

Jon Favreau: “If Trump wins, 40 million people could lose their health care, and insurance companies would get to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. If Biden wins, that…won’t happen.”

KFF Poll: 64% believe it is “very important” insurance companies continue to be prohibited from charging sick people more — including 55% of Republicans. 

NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll: “Thirteen years after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, more than eight in ten Americans (83%) either agree or strongly agree that all Americans have a basic right to healthcare coverage.”

Bryan Bennett, Navigator Research: “Per our October @NavigatorSurvey research, repealing the ACA (and January 6) remain the top concerns about Trump’s first term as president”

Washington Post: “But what’s clear is that an effort to ‘terminate’ Obamacare is not something Americans are pining for. Not only were the GOP’s efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare during Trump’s term historically unpopular, but the law also appears to have gotten more popular since then. … And when politicians talk of ending health insurance for tens of millions of Americans, dropping coverage of preexisting conditions and cutting Obamacare’s Medicaid funding, things get even dicier.”

In addition to Trump, other 2024 Republican candidates have records of railing against and trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act. 

Haley: “We have fought Obamacare in South Carolina as much as we possibly could. We said no to the state exchanges. We said no to the Medicaid expansion. … They just turned around and set every state back with this bill that we know did not work.”

Haley: “When it came to Obamacare, we didn’t just say ‘no,’ we said never… And we’re going to keep on fighting until we get people like [Senator Tim Scott] and everybody else in Congress to defund Obamacare.”

Haley: “We would end a disastrous health care program, and replace it with reforms that lowered costs and actually let you keep your doctor.”

DeSantis: “We must repeal ObamaCare… I have no desire to ‘improve’ or ‘reform’ ObamaCare. I intend to repeal it.” 

DeSantis: “Obamacare should never have been passed.”

DeSantis: “The full and complete repeal of Obama Care is one of the most critical issues of our time.”

Tampa Bay Times: “When he was soliciting Republican votes in the GOP primary, the front page of DeSantis’ site highlighted how he ‘led efforts’ to ‘repeal ObamaCare.’”

HuffPost: “As a Republican serving in the U.S. House, [DeSantis] was part of a far-right caucus that voted against the first ACA repeal bill that leadership brought to the floor because, DeSantis and his allies said, it didn’t undo enough of the law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions. GOP leaders eventually put forward a more aggressive repeal. DeSantis and his colleagues voted yes on that one, but it failed in the Senate.”

Politico: “Despite the fact that millions of people had enrolled in Obamacare, the health law remains a ‘failure on a whole number of levels’ and should be repealed, Christie said. But, he added, Republicans must also offer a concrete replacement. The conversation, he said ‘must start from a position of repeal.’”

Christie: “I’ll just tell you my position. [The Affordable Care Act] doesn’t work. It’s a fiction. It doesn’t work and it should be repealed.” 

Associated Press: “Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy swiped at former President Donald Trump on Thursday for failing to repeal and replace the health care overhaul championed by his predecessor, former President Barack Obama. ‘I am never somebody who will make a false promise,’ Ramaswamy said at an event in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. ‘My friend Donald Trump promised us: repeal and replace Obamacare. Eight years later, did it happen? No, it did not. It is a false promise if it is contingent on Congress.’”

Ramaswamy: “I think Obamacare has been a disaster.”